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A flourless chocolate cloud cake topped with billows of whipped cream on a metal platter.
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4.89 / 26 votes

Flourless Chocolate Cloud Cake

This flourless chocolate cloud cake is a wickedly elegant dessert that's deceptively easy to make. Just four ingredients--chocolate, eggs, butter, and sugar--come together for a crunchy-on-the-outside, airy-on-the-inside cake.
Prep Time40 minutes
Cook Time35 minutes
Total Time1 hour 15 minutes
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Servings: 8 to 12 servings
Calories: 595

Ingredients

For the cake

  • 8 ounces best-quality bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
  • 1 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
  • 6 large eggs, 2 whole, 4 separated
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 2 tablespoons Cointreau, Grand Marnier, or Cognac, (optional)
  • Grated zest of 1 orange, preferably organic
  • Pinch of salt

For the finishing touches

  • 1 1/2 cups heavy cream, chilled
  • 3 tablespoons confectioners' sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • Unsweetened cocoa powder, for sprinkling
  • Chocolate curls, for sprinkling
US - Metric

Instructions

Make the cake

  • Crank the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line the bottom of an 8-inch springform pan with a round of parchment.

    ☞ TESTER TIP: Do NOT butter the sides of the pan or the paper; that's a definite no-no. The cake won't creep up the pan.

    A person's hand sliding a circle of parchment into a cake pan.
  • Melt the chocolate in a bowl set over but not touching gently simmering water.
    A person stirring melted chocolate over a bain marie.
  • Remove the bowl from the heat and whisk in the butter until it's melted and utterly silky.
    A hand whisking in butter into melted chocolate.
  • In another bowl, whisk the 2 whole eggs and the 4 egg yolks with 1/2 cup of the sugar until foamy.
    A hand beating egg yolks together.
  • Slowly whisk in the warm chocolate mixture. Whisk in the Cointreau, orange zest, and salt.
    A person's hand pouring Cointreau into melted chocolate.
  • In a separate bowl, beat the 4 egg whites with an electric mixer until foamy.
    A mixer beating egg whites until foamy.
  • Gradually add the remaining 1/2 cup sugar and beat until the whites form soft peaks that hold their shape.
    A bowl of perfectly whipped egg whites.
  • Gently fold 1/4 of the whipped egg whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then carefully fold in the remaining whites.
    A person folding egg whites into a chocolate batter.
  • Pour the batter into the pan and smooth the top of the cake.
    A person's hand smoothing the top of cake batter in a cake pan.
  • Bake the cake until the top is puffed and cracked and the center is no longer wobbly, 35 to 40 minutes. Be careful not to overbake the cake.
  • Cool the cake in the pan on a wire rack. The center of the cake will sink as it cools, forming a sort of crater. Run the tip of a knife around the edge of the cake and carefully remove the side of the pan.
    A flourless chocolate cloud cake with a sunken middle on a metal platter.

Put the finishing touches on the cake

  • When ready to serve, whip the cream with the confectioners' sugar and vanilla until softly mounding. Fill the sunken center of the cake, pushing the billowy cream to the edges of the cake in decorative swoops and swirls. Sprinkle the top lightly with cocoa powder and chocolate curls.

Notes

  1. Separate your eggs carefully--Fat can make whipping egg white impossible, so make sure there's not even a speck of yolk in the whites.
  2. Take your time--The egg whites give the cake structure, so take time to make sure they're well-beaten and reach the soft-peak stage. Be gentle when folding them into the chocolate. On the other hand, under-beating the eggs can result in a cake that deflates and falls apart.
  3. Storage--The cake stores best without the whipped cream topping. Cover it with plastic wrap or a cake dome and store it in the fridge for up to 3 days. Top with the whipped cream just before serving.
  4. Dietary--This recipe is suitable for gluten-free diets.

Nutrition

Serving: 1portion | Calories: 595kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 42g | Saturated Fat: 25g | Monounsaturated Fat: 12g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 233mg | Sodium: 75mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 40g